Merlo Coffee Cafe | Eagle Farm — Restaurant in Brisbane City

Update and upgrade.

After my review, Merlo contacted me and sent me a new bag of Arriba Arriba, so add great customer service. Waited a few days to let it degas. Completely different coffee. Strong, complex, not sour or bitter. Fantastic. Still has the redundant best before sticker, but hey can't win them all. 😁

Bought the coffee sample pack.

First, the good. Website is easy to use, and delivery is crazy quick, very fresh roasted (recommend letting coffee age a week to let some of the CO2 offgas). Pricing is industry standard (approx. $55/kg). Beautiful designs on the resealable coffee bags that I intend to keep.

The coffee: The Espresso blend is superb, and the Zuri was great, especially for a pour over. The Brazil RFA was a bit meh, certainly no better than the Aldi Brazilian, which is a third of the price. Found all three very easy to dial in.

And the bad: The Arriba Arriba was terrible, bitter, sour, very dark roasted, and so oily I had to clean my grinder after tasting. Since it was not a problem to dial in (10 on the NZ, 18/36 @ 25s with a Rancilio Pro), I would say it's the beans rather than the operator. Certainly no relationship to the description "Delicate honey and blossom aromas, sweet apricot and milk chocolate flavours. Very clean and light, a lovely breakfast coffee with a soft finish."

So, in addition to the terrible Arriba Arriba, the 6-week use by date sticker really annoyed me. Yes I understand that Merlo feel that their coffee is best consumed within the first 6 weeks, so much so that they even print on each bag 'use as quickly as possible' but it will still be edible and usable for years. In 2023, when we are talking about sustainability, corporate, and customer responsibility, this additional sticker is just redundant. Customers paying $55/kg don't need to be told how quickly they need to use their coffee.

Would I buy from Merlo again? It's quite possible, especially the Espresso blend.

Attached is a photo of the now 2 week old Arriba beans to show how oily they are. Just standard kitchen lighting, no flash, no...

Dropped in here as my regular was closed. I've now been 3 days in a row. There's some issue with their app on Android phones, so not getting any rewards yet. Staff have been really lovely on the times I've visited, & one of my students commented after visiting at lunch the food is very good, so something to try, down the line. Coffee is great here, obviously as I keep returning. More photos to add as I've returned during the day and tried a mocha frappe, YUM!, and a Spinach &...

I recently tried Merlo Coffee and I was extremely impressed with the quality of the beans and the rich, full flavor of the brew. The aroma alone was enough to make my mouth water. The beans are expertly roasted to bring out the unique characteristics of each blend. I also appreciate the sustainable and ethical sourcing practices of the company. Overall, I highly recommend giving Merlo Coffee a try for anyone looking for a truly delicious and...